Priests say Cardinal O’Malley got it right’ at Kennedy’s funeral

Cardinal Sean O’Malley took heat from some Catholics last week for taking part in Ted Kennedy’s funeral Mass, but he’s getting nothing but praise from some Massachusetts priests. Though church leaders and the late senator sharply disagreed on abortion rights, “the cardinal got it right,” said the Rev. James Hickey of Holy Family Church in Rockland.

By Lane Lambert

Milford Daily News

By Lane Lambert

Posted Sep. 4, 2009 at 12:01 AM
Updated Sep 4, 2009 at 4:15 AM

By Lane Lambert

Posted Sep. 4, 2009 at 12:01 AM
Updated Sep 4, 2009 at 4:15 AM

» Social News

Cardinal Sean O’Malley took heat from some Catholics last week for taking part in Ted Kennedy’s funeral Mass, but he’s getting nothing but praise from some Massachusetts priests.

Though church leaders and the late senator sharply disagreed on abortion rights, “the cardinal got it right,” said the Rev. James Hickey of Holy Family Church in Rockland.

Cardinal O’Malley also got unequivocal support from the Rev. John Carmichael at St. Ann’s By the Sea in Marshfield and the Rev. Dan Riley at Sacred Heart Church in Weymouth.

“I’m very proud of the cardinal,” the Rev. Carmichael said. “He didn’t take the easy road. He took the difficult road.”

Their comments came after Cardinal O’Malley defended his role at Kennedy’s funeral in extensive comments posted Thursday in his “Cardinal’s Corner” blog on the Boston Archdiocese Web site. Read the blog at www.tinyurl.com/ledger-cardinal.

Nationally known Jesuit editor and commentator, the Rev. James Martin, said it’s unusual for a cleric of Cardinal O’Malley’s rank to go to such lengths to publicly explain an action. The America magazine editor said that’s a reflection of the controversy that surrounded Kennedy’s liberal Catholicism.

Boston College history professor Thomas O’Connor of Milton said the blog also marks a break in style from predecessors like Cardinal Richard Cushing, who felt no need or pressure to explain anything to parishioners or the public at large.

“This is a bit unique,” O’Connor said.

Cardinal O’Malley’s blog is a response to criticism he drew from some conservative Catholics even before last Saturday’s funeral at “the Mission Church” in Boston’s Mission Hill neighborhood.

They said Cardinal O’Malley would in effect endorse Kennedy’s pro-choice views by being there. Hardliners went further, saying Kennedy should have been denied Catholic rites, but the cardinal said he disagrees with that position “in the strongest terms.”

“We are people of faith and we believe in a loving and forgiving God from whom we seek mercy,” the cardinal wrote. For that reason, he said it was appropriate for him to preside over the service – even though Kennedy’s support for abortion was “a great disappointment” to him and many other Catholics.

Cardinal O’Malley also appealed to his fellow abortion opponents to take a more civil tone toward those who are pro-choice.

“We will not change hearts by turning away from people in their time of need and when they are experiencing grief and loss,” he wrote, referring to the Kennedy family.

“At times, even in the Church, zeal can lead people to issue harsh judgments and impute the worst motives to one another,” the cardinal wrote. “These attitudes and practices do irreparable damage to the communion of the Church.”

“I’m happy he came down on the side of mercy,” said the Rev. Martin, who’s also the author of “My Life With The Saints” and other books.

The Rev. Martin and the Rev. Carmichael said Kennedy’s lifelong efforts for the poor, universal health care and other issues should also be taken into account, since those policies were so clearly rooted in Catholic social-justice teachings.